City report · Istanbul, Turkey
Başakşehir Air quality today
Air quality in Başakşehir currently reads AQI 86 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 86
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 27.8
- tree cover
- 9.3%
- trees in this area
- 29.2K
- more trees needed
- 65.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around European Side, İstanbul, Türkiye (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Başakşehir · AQI 86 (Moderate)
Başakşehir's tree count comes to 29,188 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 21 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 64,966 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Başakşehir today: AQI 86, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Istanbul Basaksehir, Turkey, 1.2 km away · median of 5 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
27.8
PM10
51.8
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Turkey National Air Quality Monitoring Network (Ulusal Hava Kalitesi İzleme Ağı)
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Başakşehir's daily AQI at 59 on average, from 26 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 164 on Nov 9.
Where Başakşehir stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Başakşehir: Critically low
9.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
29,188
Target trees
94,154
More trees needed
64,966
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,429 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Başakşehir lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Başakşehir has lost about 1,120 hectares of forest (about 1,600 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 503 hectares (45%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,120 haabout 1,600 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 503 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 87 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 68 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2021, when about 231 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5 ha | 13 ha | 18 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2004 | 15 ha | 8 ha | 23 ha |
| 2005 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2006 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 12 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2009 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2010 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 9 ha | 13 ha | 22 ha |
| 2013 | 59 ha | 8 ha | 67 ha |
| 2014 | 84 ha | 20 ha | 104 ha |
| 2015 | 7 ha | 21 ha | 28 ha |
| 2016 | 6 ha | 18 ha | 24 ha |
| 2017 | 30 ha | 13 ha | 43 ha |
| 2018 | 28 ha | 17 ha | 45 ha |
| 2019 | 14 ha | 56 ha | 71 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | 150 ha | 160 ha |
| 2021 | 72 ha | 159 ha | 231 ha |
| 2022 | 32 ha | 17 ha | 49 ha |
| 2023 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2024 | 26 ha | 23 ha | 48 ha |
| 2025 | 22 ha | 63 ha | 85 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Başakşehir?
- Loggingcan grow back53% · 588 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good34% · 377 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 111 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, storms, floods and other natural causes, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 6,430 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,280 ha
- Overall change
- −151 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Başakşehir shrank from about 6,430 hectares to 6,280 hectares, a net loss of about 151 hectares (−2.3%). New forest grew on about 402 hectares, but 552 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Başakşehir
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Küçükçekmece12.9 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 73
- Esenyurt13.0 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 70
- Istanbul16.8 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 76
- Umraniye29.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 78
- Maltepe35.9 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 77
- Sancaktepe38.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 78
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Frequently asked
Questions about Başakşehir
What is the air quality (AQI) in Başakşehir right now?
The latest reading for Başakşehir shows an AQI of 86 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Istanbul Basaksehir, Turkey, 1.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Başakşehir today?
At AQI 86 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Başakşehir been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Başakşehir's daily AQI at 59 on average, from 26 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 164 on Nov 9. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Başakşehir lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Başakşehir has lost about 1,120 hectares of forest (about 1,600 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 503 hectares (45%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is speeding up: about 87 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 68 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Başakşehir shrank from about 6,430 hectares to 6,280 hectares, a net loss of about 151 hectares (−2.3%). New forest grew on about 402 hectares, but 552 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Başakşehir?
Başakşehir has an estimated 29,188 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 9.3% tree cover, 21 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Başakşehir need?
Başakşehir needs roughly 64,966 more trees to close a 21-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,429 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Başakşehir's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near European Side, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around European Side; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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